25 years ago: New year brings new license plate design for Kansans

A new standard license plate was to be rolled out in Kansas in 1988. Vehicle owners were being asked to retire their current "blue wheat" or white tags in favor of the new plates, which were to debut on Jan. 4. All drivers were to receive the new plates when registering their vehicles in the new year. The new tags had three blue embossed letters and three numerals on a white background, with a shock of wheat standing in the middle of the plate. According to a recent state audit report, Kansas was going to end up with 169,000 unused license plates when the state made the switch to the new design. The report said that the surplus would cost the state more than a quarter-million dollars. However, some unused plates were to be sent to Center Industries, the manufacturer in Wichita, where they would be scrapped and the aluminum recycled.